Posted in authors, books, Fiction, grammar, humor, Jansen Schmidt, reading, romance, short story, success, words, writers, writing, tagged bad grammar, books, editing, editors, errors in books, good advice, language, manuscript, mistakes, novel writing, novels, proper English, proper sentences, self-editing, self-publishing, sentences, writers, writing on April 11, 2022| 4 Comments »
In the past, I’ve stressed the importance of having a manuscript professionally edited before publishing it. In my opinion, that is the single-most important thing an author can do (and spend money on). Many a good story has been ruined because it was poorly edited. It doesn’t matter how well you can self-edit, you should never skip this step.
Posted in authors, books, cowboys, desert, deserts, Fiction, grammar, Jansen Schmidt, love, On Common Ground, On Hallowed Ground, On Solid Ground, reading, romance, short story, travel, words, writers, writing, tagged Arizona, author, authors, book writing, cattle rance, creativity, Flagstaff, ideas, novel writing, novels, settings, writing, writing process on February 7, 2022| 6 Comments »
It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything about my books or writing in general. Since I am a published author, I guess I should probably talk about my books on occasion, right? Today is that day. I thought I’d share with you some of my ideas and how my creative process works when I’m writing.
Posted in Baer House Inn, blogging, bucket list, camera, cement walls, Family, friends, history, humor, Jansen Schmidt, positivity, resolutions, short story, travel, vacation, Vicksburg, weird facts, writers, writing, tagged abandoned places, adventures, American Civil War, exploring, headstones, historical places, history, Mississippi River, off the beaten path, Port Gibson Mississippi, preservation, ruins, southern plantations, traveling, Windsor Plantation, Windsor Ruins on January 17, 2022| 6 Comments »
Last week I told you of my interest in exploring ghost towns and abandoned places. I relayed the story of the town of Rodney, the capital that almost was. This week, I continue my exploration adventures with you to another spot not too far from my home in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Let’s wander over to Windsor Ruins, what’s left of Mississippi’s greatest plantation home ever.
(more…)Posted in Baer House Inn, blogging, Family, friends, history, humor, Jansen Schmidt, Paranormal, positivity, resolutions, short story, travel, vacation, Vicksburg, weird facts, writers, writing, tagged abandoned places, adventures, churches, exploring, ghost towns, graveyards, headstones, historical places, history, Mississippi River, off the beaten path, old churches, Rodney MIssissippi, steamboats, traveling on January 10, 2022| 10 Comments »
I don’t know if you like to explore abandoned places, but I do. I enjoy wandering around ruins and imagining who lived there, what they did, how they lived, etc. Maybe it’s the writer in me or maybe just an inherent curiosity. I don’t know, but I’ve always sought out ghost towns when I’m traveling.
(more…)Posted in Amazon.com, authors, blogging, Fiction, friends, humor, Jansen Schmidt, On Common Ground, On Hallowed Ground, On Solid Ground, reading, short story, success, words, writers, writing, tagged algorithms, authors, book marketing, bookbub, books, cyberspace, exposure, follow me button, follows, GoodReads, like button, likes, marketing, reading, social media, visibility, writers, writing on November 1, 2021| 4 Comments »
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Writing is hard. Anyone who’s tried it will attest to this. Putting the exact words on a page in the exact order they are meant to be in and incorporating the appropriate punctuation without changing tense or point of view may seem easy. But . . . it’s not. With practice it gets easier. Sometimes. I hope anyway. I’m going to keep doing it so I guess I’ll find out.
(more…)Posted in authors, blooms, Family, Fiction, goals, grammar, humor, Jansen Schmidt, laughter, names, reading, short story, weird, words, writers, writing, tagged articles, catchy headlines, creativity, editing, editing mistakes, editors, headlines, mistakes, news, news story, newspapers, play on words, random on June 28, 2021| 11 Comments »
Have you ever read a headline and thought: “I really need to read this article?” Or have you read a headline and said to yourself: “Self, it’d be a waste of time to read any farther?” Headlines can make or break a story. Like back cover blurbs on a book, a headline has to grab attention and elicit feelings of wanting to know more.
(more…)Posted in authors, blogging, books, Family, Fiction, goals, grammar, humor, Jansen Schmidt, laughter, On Common Ground, On Hallowed Ground, reading, short story, success, weird, words, writers, writing, tagged books, crimes, Savvy Authors, webinars, Weird Al, Weird Al Yankovic, writing crimes, writing life, writing retreat, writing webinars, writing workshops, Youtube on September 14, 2020| 4 Comments »
I’ve had a very long weekend of writing related stuff. Savvy Authors sponsored a 3-day free writing retreat that blew my mind. So many really good presenters, free mini intensive workshops, and great webinars. My brain is so full of new information and practical tips. I feel like a thief getting all of this great information for free.
(more…)Posted in Baer House Inn, blogging, breakfast, eating, Family, food, humor, innkeeping, Jansen Schmidt, positivity, resolutions, short story, success, travel, words, tagged call back, history, listening, messages, phone messages, phones, questions, repeating, repeating yourself, stories, story, text messages, texting, texts, voicemail on September 7, 2020| 10 Comments »
Let me begin this post by saying WordPress automatically “upgraded” my software and I find myself floundering a wee bit while trying to get this blog ready. I apologize in advance for any wonky parts. Please bear with me while this old dog learns some new tricks.
I’m not overly fond of repeating myself. I never knew this about myself until I owned an inn. I have the same spiel memorized that I tell every guest at check-in. It’s not bad if there are only 1 or 2 rooms checking in, but when we have a full house and everyone checks in at different times, I’m forced to repeat the spiel several times a day.
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